Torn By War
by Charlie Vivendi
Summary: Callum, Rayla and Zym continue their adventures throughout Xadia. What sort of threats hide in this magical land. Will they return Zym to his mother? Will Callum stop risking his life in dumb ways? Will Rayla stop hiding things from herself and others? Will the bond they share be accepted by the other elves and humans, or will it escalate into a series of broken hearts.
1. Chapter 1: You dumb human

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Dragon Prince. If I did... I would make King Harrow say the n-word, just for fun.

**Chapter 1:** You dumb human

"Run, Callum, run!" Rayla and Callum were running for their lives from Sol Regem. The Sun Dragon was soaring through the air hot on their trail. He opened his mouth. A large fireball started to form in his throat.

"Heads up!" Callum shouted! It was hard for him to run while carrying the Dragon Prince. Azymondias wasn't heavy, but running while carrying the baby dragon really took its toll on the prince's stamina. 'This isn't going to work. I can't keep running like this." He thought to himself. "Think, Callum, think. Wait what if... No stupid plan, Callum, just run!" He ran faster. The dragon fired it's deadly fire blast. Fire spread out from his mouth in a giant cone. It was about half a meter away from them. They could feel the dreadful heat on their backs, scorching like the sun in the desert.

"Jumo to the side!!!" Rayla yelled out as she and Callum jumped on opposite sides of the Fire cone. They survived only a few minor scorch marks. The fire barrage passed them and dissapated. Sol Regem flew up to the sky and started to circle around.

"He's coming around!" Rayla notified before she started looking around. The mesa was big, dry and empty, there were some holes in the walls, but not big enough to hide in, until... "Over there, quick!" Rayla started to run towards a small cave opening. Just big enough to fit everyone in. Callum followed behind. Sol Regem, eyeballed them with his working eye, he started to descend, opening his mouth to prepare for another fire blast. Fire started to form in his throat.

"Here it comes!" Callum shouted as he ran. His running was getting slower and slower. Zym was whympering in his arms. Callum tightened his embrace to keep him safe. "Don't worry Zym, I got you." Rayla was already at the cave entrance. She turned around to witness in horror as Callum was lagging behind and Sol Regem was about to fire his deadly fire blast.

"Callum!" She cried out at her friend!

Cal turned his head to look at the Dragon. "I'm not gonna make it, unless..." He stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the Sun Dragon.

"What are you doin'!?"Rayla shouted in horror. She knew her human friend was foolish and reckless and she hated that about him. But risking the life of the Future King of The Dragons was too much." If you die, I'll kill you!"

Callum quickly drew the lightning rune. "Fulminis!" He lunged his arm forward. Lightning sprang from his finger towards the Dragon who fired his cone of fire to block it. The fire started to overwhelm Callum's lightning spell. His life was on the line so he had to use everything he got. "Alright Sky, give me all you got." Suddenly a massive amount of Sky energy flood his body. It was like he was the Sky Arcanum itself. The lightning grew into a massive storm of lightning bolts shooting out of his fingertips. Rayla was just watching in awe. She couldn't believe her eyes. It was bigger and more powerful than any Fulminis spell she'd seen before. It pushed back the fire. Sol Regem noticed and turned up the heat on his fire. The two attacks clashed and were in a stalemate. They danced merged and dissappeared at the point of impact. On the sides, the flames and lightning dispersed into different direction, creating a magnificent display of light and power. At first Callum started to get the advantage, slowly pushing back the flames. But Sol Regem was still charging through the sky at him. His flames getting stronger and more concentrated, pushing Callum's lightning bolts further and further back.

"CALLUM!!!!!" Rayla shouted. The fire blast grew bigger and bigger, it pushed back the lightning faster and faster. Callum's spell was overwhelmed. The flames engulphed his whole body.

"Aaah!" He stood up from his bed in shock. He was breathing heavily. His heart was racing. Sweat was dripping from his head. He felt incredibly thirsty. There was a bowl with water on a Rock right next to him. He took it and drank it all in one go. After quenching his thirst, he started to look around. He was in a cave, about the size of the inside of Villads' boat. There was another sleeping mat, on the other side, most likely Rayla's. Zym was sleeping in between the two mats on the rocky floor. He looked around for Rayla, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"What happened? Was that a dream? Or was it... a memory?" He slowly got up from bed. He slowly snuk past Zym to not wake him up. "Poor thing. Barely a week old and already going through so much trouble." He thought to himself as he snuck out of the cave to look for Rayla. Outside the sun was shining brightly on the yellowish rocky hills. There was no one around for miles. "Where's Rayla? Oh no, did the Sol Regem burn her to a crisp?" Callum started to worry about his elven friend, before realizing. "Wait, no, she must be here, otherwise who would have set up camp. Is that dragon still around?" He looked around, but there was no sings of life.

"Rayla! Rayla where are you!?" There was no response. He walked around to the rocky hills, staying close to the cave, so he doesn't get lost. He climbed up a particularly large hill to get a better view. When he got to the top he could see something in the distance. It was a river cutting through the desert. It had small fertile patches on each side. It was a beautiful sight to behold. "Rayla's probably looking for some food or something, sooo..." He sat down and started scetching the scenery in his scetchbook.

About twenty minutes past, Callum had finished his scetch of the river a while ago and was looking at some of his older drawings. He was looking at a drawing of Claudia. "How could you do it, Claudia? How could you betray us like that?" He started talking to his drawings "I thought we had something. Were you just following orders? Who's orders? Lord Viren, your dad? What are you going to do now? To us? To Ezran? Are you a friend or a for?" Shivers went down his spine, just thinking about it. He turned the page. It was the drawings of Rayla he made after Rayla went to help the injured dragon." Rayla... I didn't trust you at first. Come to think of it I don't know if I still trust you one hundred percent. You're always hiding something from me. From us. But even with that you... You stood by me when my old friends betrayed us. You were a voice of reason and a shoulder to cry on when I needed them most... Everything I knew about elves was wrong. You..."

"Callum?" A familiar voice called out. He closed his scetchbook and turned around to look who it was. It was Rayla who was holding a small bundle of fish.

"Rayla!" He stood up to face his Elven companion "I've been looking for you."

"You're awake...?" She stood completely still. Her voice was cold. Her expression was a mixture of "I'm glad you're alive" and "I want to kill you".

"Uhh yeah, I think. I had this weird dream. I was running from a dragon, then I used fulminis to block it's attack and then..."

"That... Was not a dream... It really happened."

"But I got burnt to a crisp in my dream!" He yellped.

"Well obviously that part didn't happen . You were, almost, burnt to a crisp. You're lucky Zym was there." She was scolding him like the baker would scold Ezran after he stole his jelly tarts.

"Z-zym saved me?"

"You don't remember?"

"No, it's" Callum put his hand above his forehead. And closed his eyes. "It's very blurry, I... Can't quite make sense of it.. ."

Rayla looked towards the cave The Dragon Prince was sleeping in.

**(A/N: **Everything in _Italics _is Rayla telling the story)

_"We were almost to the cave..."_

Callum was doing his best to repel the massive barrage of fire, with his Fulminis spell, but the fires just kept getting stronger and stronger.

_"It looked like you were about to give in."_

"CALLUM!!!" Rayla shouted from afar and started running back to try and rescue him.

_"But then, something happened. Something..."_

"It...It happened so fast, I-I don't know how to..." Rayla tried to explain.

"Just spit it out." Callum demanded to know what happened.

"Alright..."

_"You were about to get burned to a crisp when..."_

Zym jumped out of Callum's grip and looked towards the coming flames.

"Zym, what are you doing?" Callum shouted to the baby dragon while still holding on to the spell. Zym closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his eyes were glowing in bright cyan. He threw his front feet in the air, while balancing on his hind legs before slamming his feet into the ground unleashing a deafening roar.

"Wait? Did you say roar?" Callum asked.

"Yes..." Rayla simply replied.

_"...a mighty roar that shaked the sky itself. It definitely sounded like Zym, but louder, fiercer and stronger..."_

Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind. The wind swooshed in to support Callum's lightning and pretty quickly dispersed the Sun Dragon's attack like it was nothing. Sol Regem was stunned. The rapid gust of wind threw the big dragon off balance. He was rapidly flapping his wings, trying to maintain his balance, but he failed. The gust of wind propelled the Sun Dragon far away from them. Zym's spell, started fading, more and more until he closed his eyes and collapsed on the ground. Callum was disoriented by the gust and his fulminis spell that drained his last bits of strength and started to fall to the ground.

_"It was like nothing I've ever seen before."_

Rayla quickly grabbed the two Princes and quickly dragged them to the cave, before Sol Regem decided to come for round three.

_"Sol Regem circled around the area for a wee bit, but couldn' find us."_

When the sun Dragon regained his balance he swooshed in again to check where his pray was, but couldn't find anything. He landed on the ground and started walking around. He went by the cave they wee in and peered his big lizard eye inside. Rayla was quietly standing back to the wall out of sight, holding the two unconscious Princes. The dragon's eye looked towards the left and the right. He gave a frustrated grunt, before turning around and walking away. He spread his wings and flew off into the distance.

"Wow, I... Wait, Zym did all that?" Callum asked.

"Yeah, pretty unbelievable, is it? He's the future King of the Dragons, alright."

"Yeah, well I guess I was lucky that Zym..."

"You could have gotten killed again!" The elf assassin suddenly snapped at him. "What were you thinkin'? Tryin' to challenge one of the strongest sun dragons in Xadia?" Callum was taken aback by his friend's sudden change of mood.

"I-I guess I thought that since I can understand the Sky Arcanum now, that..." Callum tried to defend himself, but Rayla stepped forward interrupting him again.

"Exchange blows with a powerful sun dragon?"

"Well... Yes...? At least, buy you some time, or try to fend off it's attack until it went away I... Thought it would work..." He paused for a second. "But it didn't... If it weren't for Zym... I... We..." He starred into the distance thinking about his choices. The choices that almost got him killed and Azymondias killed. He turned to face Rayla again. As soon as their eyes met, her expression softened. "I acted foolish, I know, it's just... I got so excited that I can finally do real magic that I... wanted to..." Rayla didn't let him finish, she went up to him and pulled him into a tight embrace. "You're alive, at least." Tears started pouring from her eyes. "You dumb human!" More tears started pouring and she started to cry.

"R-Rayla..." He started, but couldn't finish his sentence, he just wrapped his arms around her and held her close until she stoppedm

"Callum?" She almost whispered.

"Yes, Rayla?"

"Why do you always do this? Riskin' your life..." She wanted to scream it out, but it came out soft and tired. "I can't bear to watch it."

"Rayla I had no idea that you, felt that way, I..." She pushed herself out of the embrace.

"Do you have any idea how important it is to get a human to return The Dragon Prince to his mother? It would finally bring peace to the world. And that won't happen if that human gets himself and the baby Dragon killed along the way. Don't you understand Callum! Xadia needs you! The world needs you... I..." Rayla started to get nervous." Callum, I... I..." Callum's eyes widened as she was about to say the last word when she heard rumbling.

"Excuse me, I haven't had breakfast yet? You were saying?" Callum, put his hands on his stomach.

"Ohh, well if that's the case I'll go make us some food." the elf quickly changed the subject "Hope you like Scorpionfish!" She wiggled the fish in front of him with an innocent looking smile. They had little stingers on their back fins.

"Uhm... Never tried one, but sure. Uhm, what were you going to say earlier?"

"Oh that? Forget it. I'll go prepare the food."

"Huh? Forget what? Rayla!" Callum was confused.

"Just forget it!" With that she leaped towards the cave with the fish still in hand.

"Rayla! Forget what!?" He called her out, before snapping back at her "Alright then. Keep your secrets!" Callum was getting tired of all her little secrets. She was hiding something again, he knew it? But what? Why does she always do this? He sighed, sat down, opened a fresh page of his scetchbook and started to draw.

**Author's Note:** Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Feel free to leave me some feedback. I'm mostly doing this for fun, but I want to get better at storytelling and I love improving myself. I can't promise I'll post often since University got my hands full with projects and exams, but I'll do my best if you guys like it. Peace out.


	2. Chapter 2: You shady elf

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Dragon Prince. If I did I would make Soren go full on Jamie Lanister... Maybe it's for the better.

**P.S.** For legal reasons, that's a joke. And I won't do it here. I intend to keep this fic rated T!

**P.P.S.** I mean he does look a lot like Jamie. I feel like Wonderstorm based Soren off of Jamie.

**A/N:** Hey everyone. Chapter 2 is here. For those following the story I'm sorry it took so long. I had a lot going on these past few months from final exams and university projects, to catching up with friends back home and my other original story that I'm working on. It's been a few really hectic months for me. But without further adew.

**Chapter 2:** You shady elf

Callum was sitting on top of the large rocky hill. He couldn't believe he was in Xadia and the first thing that happened was getting chased by a dragon, getting knocked out and having Zym save him. "That's one for the history books" His dad used to say. He really wished he was here right now. He missed him a lot. More than he could even comprehend. Even if he was only his step-dad, he was still there for him on so many occasions.

What was he going to do without his support and love, he wondered.

"Ouch" Callum felt a zap on his left hand, that's holding the scetchbook. It was Zym giving Callum a zappy kiss.

"Hey Zym, how are you doing, buddy? Zym jumped up in his lap and looked at his scetchbook. It was a portrait of King Harrow. The dragonling whimpered sympathetically at him.

Callum smiled and scratched him on the head. "Thanks Zym" He looked down at his drawing "I really miss him. He would probably know what to do right now." Zym just barked back. "Oh, how I wish Ezran was here right now." He looked at his scetchbook and turned the previous page. It was a drawing of Sol Regem.

Zym became frightened and started shivering. "Must have been very scary for you, huh. Hey..." He pat Zym on the head. "I don't know how you did it, but thanks Zym. You saved my life." The Dragon Prince made a happy bark and gave him a zappy kiss on the cheek. "H-hey quit it." He dropped his scetchbook, flipping to the previous page. It was a drawing of Rayla. Zym looked at the picture then to Callum, who was visibly worried about something while looking at the picture. He turned to face Zym, who was staring into his soul.

"I just... I don't get her sometimes Zym. I thought I knew her, but..." He pondered at the drawing a bit. Ever since we got into Xadia I feel like she's been hiding something, I know it. Did I really make her worry that much? Does she even trust me? Is she intimidated by my newfound Arcanum? " He did a happy/frustrated face while letting the Sky Primal flow through his index finger, creating a pale blue light at the tip. "I don't know anymore." The dragonling purred at him affectionately. "Heh, thanks buddy. You know, maybe she just needs some time."

"Callum!"

"Speak of the devil." He chuckled. "What!?"

"You comin' down for breakfast, or what?" Rayla called him from afar.

"Yeah, just a second!" He bent down to pick up his Scetchbook. "Come on Zym." The two tiptoed down the mountain. While walking down, Callum tripped and did a couple of summer saults before faceplanting the ground. His Scetchbook flew away and landed open the ground. Zym safely glided down to the ground landing on Callum's back giving a happy bark.

"I'm okay!" The step-prince raised his hand giving a thumbs up while still on the ground. Rayla just chuckled.

"You dumb human." She said as she went to help him out. She eyeballed the scetchbook and picked it up. She was surprised to see that it was a drawing of her. She just smiled and closed it, before going to help out Callum who was trying to get up. He saw the elf extend her hand to help him up. He looked up to see her smile. Callum wasn't sure if it was the light, but Rayla looked particularly beautiful in that moment. "Come on, we haven't got all day!" She rushed the human prince. He grabbed her hand. She pulled him up a bit too strong that they almost ended up hugging. "Here" She gave him back this Scetchbook "You're quite the artist, you know that?"

"Uh, thanks, I guess. I like drawing, it helps me think and relax. Especially when I'm upset or confused." He smiled.

"Well, you're really good at it" She smiled giving away a light blush. "Come on, breakfast is ready." With her hand still holding his, she pulled him towards the cave. Inside she had prepared the Scorpionfish she caught earlier. Callum had a bite and his face lit up.

"Hey, this is really good!"

"Thanks" Rayla smiled "It's a Sunfire delicacy. These fish can only be found in this particular desert. They're very poisonous if you don't know how to clean them, but they're incredibly tasty."

"Wait, poisonous?" Callum scrunched with his mouth full and eyes widened.

"I cleaned it up, relax. Runaan taught me how to clean them." She was a bit tense before bursting out into laughter. "I just remembered this one time. I was ten years old and Runaan was teachin' me survival skills. I had to cook one of these fish. He tried it and got really sick from the first bite. We had to cancel training for a whole week." Callum just watched in suspension.

"That's not very reassuring."

"Oh come on you big baby, after that incident I haven't made a single mistake when cleaning it up. I swear." She looked down at Zym, who was happily chowing down on the prepared fish "See, even Zym has more guts than you." She said while giggling ecmver so slightly.

"Haha, well excuse me for not wanting to get poisoned." Rayla didn't know how to listen respond. There was an awkward silence between them before Callum broke it of. "Sooo, tell me about Xadia" He asked as he took another bite.

"What do you want to know?"

"For example, your home? What's that like"

Rayla went silent for a moment.

"Fine... It's fine, I guess."

"Just fine?" Callum's curiosity grew. "Tell me more, how are your friends there? What's it like in a town full of Moonshadow elves? Do Moonshadow elves live in towns even? Do you have a king? Do you..."

"Yes it's a town. We have a monarch, but it's not exactly a king!" She said almost angrily. Callum felt like he was treading on thin ice. What happened at her home that got her so flustered?

"I'm sorry, is something wrong?"

"No! Nothing's wrong, just finish your damn Scorpionfish, and let's get movin'!" She grabbed a piece of fish and shoved it in his mouth. With that she took her plate and went outside not saying a word. Callum was watching her with a mixture of confusion and frustration. "There it is again. She's hiding something, but what? Did something happen that she doesn't want to talk about?" He pondered as he swallowed the fish. He barely understood human girls, let alone elven girls. He thought, they were done with secrets after that fiasco with the dragon egg, but apparently not.

Rayla was sitting outside the cave, lost in thought. She was sharpening her blades with a whetstone. Not that they needed sharpening, she was just doing it, because it helped her think. "Home... I never thought I would return there." She took a stroke with the whetstone "When I joined the mission to assassinate the King of Katolis, I never thought of coming back" She took another stroke. "I just wanted to be useful" Another Stroke. "To make them proud" Stroke. "Yet I'm the only survivor of that mission." Stroke. "And when I found Zym I thought..." Stroke. "They would finally respect me."

In Rayla's head heroic fantasies were brewing up. She imagined how she returned to her town with Zym in her hands. "Hey, look everyone! The Dragon Prince is alive!" Then Zym would cuu in joy. Everyone started cheering for her.

"You did it Rayla!" Callum but his hand on her shoulder from behind. She shook her head.

"No, we did it!" She hugged him tightly. Feeling the warmth of his body and the beating of his heart.

Stroke.

"But now with Callum." She was about to stroke her blades again, but stopped. She froze not moving a muscle. Worry filled her eyes. "He's in danger here" She continued stroking her blades "In danger from them." She started to stroke her blades faster. "In danger from the elves." Stroke! "In danger from the Dragons." Stroke "In danger from...

The last stroke was so strong she dropped the stone and cut her hand. Blood started dripping from her palm. She looked at it in horror, tears started to drip from her eyes"...from me."

Rayla heard footsteps. She stood up and swiftly folded her blades, put them on her belt and wiped away the tears. When she saw Callum walking out she did her best to mask the breakdown she just had. That wound though...

"Took you long enough." The Elven assassin noted sarcastically.

"Sorry, I was just finishing my breakfast. I gotta say, these Scorpionfish are really something else." Zym, who was standing on the step-prince's shouldersl, cooed in agreement.

"I'm glad you two liked it" She smiled with her face turned away from them. "Anyway, we need to keep movin'. We still have a long way till we reach the Dragon Queen."

"Alright." Callum agreed and they started walking. While walking Callum noticed the wound on Rayla's hand.

"Wait, Rayla, you're bleeding! Hold on I got some bandages." He got his backpack off and started rummaging through it.

"Oh, it's nothin'. We need to get movin'"

"What do you mean, it's nothing? You're hurt, we need to patch it up before it gets worse and..." Callum was adamant, he reached out for her hand, but Rayla pulled it away. She snapped and turned around in furry. Her face red like a tomato.

"I said it's nothin' now leave me alone!" She turned away just as quickly and started to move at a faster pace. Callum and Zym were both shocked. The Dragon prince whimpered and made his way to lie in Callum's arms. The brown haired boy was feeling frustrated and concerned by his Elven companion's behaviour. Despite everything, he shrugged it aside and pressed on.

The journey through the desert was long and tedious. The sun was burning down like the fires of a sun dragon. The entire journey was dominated by silence, broken only by Callum's occasional wry comments, Zym's adorable cooing and Rayla urging him to keep moving. Callum felt an uneasy tension between them. Ever since they got into Xadia and had their little incident with Sol Regem, Rayla's been more reclusive than ever. More than when they first met, more than when they were carrying the still egg-bound Azymondias. Was it just another Moonshadow Elf thing? Or was it something else. The silence was really starting to bother him, but he pressed on.

Callum and Rayla were starting to get exhausted. Luckily for them there was a small oasis on the way where they stopped to regain their strength.

"Ohh... Finally. Sweet, sweet water!" Callum rushed towards the pond and blissfully started drinking from the desert pond. Zym followed suite and began happily drinking from the pond. He paused for a moment and in his excitement he jumped in the pond splashing Callum with sprinkles of water. The baby dragon had trouble swimming at first, but with some telepathic help from his buddy Ezran he picked it up and was already swimming like a dog in less than a minute.

"King Ezrar, if I may ask, what are you doing?" Corvus asked, confused by his new King's behavior. Ezran was doing the doggy paddle in the air with his hands while running around in a circle.

"I'm teaching Zym how to swim!" After about a minute he stopped and jumped excitedly in the air. "Yeah! I knew you could do it, Zym!"

"You really are a strange king, King Ezran." Corvus sympathetically noted.

"I know!" The young king happily acknowledged. "Come on, we still got a long way home!"

"Agreed" The tracker noted as he and the new king continued on their way to the capital of Katolis, where little did they know, of the new threat was waiting for them at the palace.

Callum was enjoying the baby dragon's little game. The water in his face was surprisingly refreshing and he just watched the Zym playing around. Rayla came by the pond, she dipped her empty bottle in the water to fill it up. Callum noticed that she had bandaged the wound from before, but hesitated to ask about it. She filled up her bottle and abruptly left, sitting down under a palm tree. Callum noticed and wanted to know what was troubling her. He got up and went to her.

"Hey."

"Hey..." She meakly replied.

"May I sit"

"Yeah, sure..." She hesitantly replied.

"Hey I'm sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to make you worry, I was just, doing what I thought was best in the moment. I guess I still have a long way to go with this magic thing."

"Thanks, but it's not that, it's... Uhh nevermind."

"What? You know it won't help it if you don't talk to me about it? We're friends right? Rayla?"

"It's not that! Just leave it! You wouldn't understand!"

"Then help me understand. What's bothering you?"

"Callum! Just leave it!!" She snapped at him which made him stand up.

"Fine! If you want to act like this, fine! Keep your secrets, you shady elf!" He got really mad at her and went back to the pond where Zym was. Rayla didn't respond, she just stared at him as he left.

"I'm so sorry, Callum." She muttered to herself, quietly so he wouldn't hear her. A tear went down her eye. "I can't... I just can't! I don't want to hurt you." She curled up in a fetus position, more tears started flowing from her eyes. "Not after what happened to Kyrrha."

**A/N: **In closure I have a few disclaimers to make. Yes, I absolutely snagged the name Kyrhha from an elven names site. Second of all, this chapter's actually been sitting in my phone for a long time waiting to be proof read and edited. I was on a trip to Italy with my mom when I decided "You know what I'm gonna finish this chapter". I also realized that Rayla's original monologue outside the cave was just not fitting or heavy enough, so I had to rewrite it completely. I hope you are pleased by the results as I was. Anyways I'll make sure I don't take forever to post the next one. Feel free to leave a comment and I'll see you in the next chapter. Peace out.


	3. Chapter 3: The Lone City

**Disclaimer: **

I do not own Dragon Prince. This is just something I do for fun and to work on my writing.

**A/N: **Well this chapter took a lot longer than I thought it would. And also ended up a lot longer than I had envisioned. For better or for worse? I don't know. Let me know if you guys want longer chapters. Anyways. Lots of OCs in this one, some are gonna be recurring and some not. I hope you guys enjoy it.

**Chapter 3:** The Lone City

The trio were travelling east, through the desert at a slow pace. They hadn't talked much after the oasis. Even less than before. Callum was looking at the sketches he did of Rayla. He had made four drawings of his Elven friend last night after their little fight. The first was the playful, goofy Rayla. It was his favorite part about her, it always put a smile on his face, except when she puts on that Human expression, Ezran might have been a fan, but he sure wasn't. He thought it was stupid and a bit insulting, but even that would have been better than... This. The second drawing was Rayla in a battle stance, it's pretty handy to have an Elven assassin on his side, although she can be too heroic for her own good.

"Huh, I'm one to talk." He sighed as he looked towards the third one. It was the duty driven part of her. That part of her that wants them to get Zym to Xadia, but at the same time take care of the gang.

"She can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she means well and I'm grateful for it." Zym barked happily from atop his shoulder. He turned his gaze on the last drawing. She had her back turned on him, with only a part of her face showing. She looked distant.

"What are you hiding Rayla?" He focused on the image, until he heard his Elven companion call out.

"Callum, come quick! We're here!"

He looked ahead. She was waving at him from atop a hill. He quickly closed his scetchbook, secured it on his satchel and ran over to her.

"Huff...puff. What is it Rayla?'

She turned towards him with a happy expression

"We're here, Callum! Solus, the Lone City." The prince of Katolis looked towards the city. It was a medium sized city, for human standards. It had a big sandstone perimeter wall with four massive towers on each corner. On the inside there was a tall tower with a large yellow orb, floating just above the tower's rounded peak. It glew bright like the sun. The tower had four curved claw like structures, probably, to hold or generate the orb. The city was positioned right in front of a big mountain pass, big enough to allow a small army to pass through. There was also a big river going through the the town.

"Woooow!" Callum was stunned from the sight.

"Amazin' isn't it. It used to be a hub for human and elf relations. Now it stands as one of the greatest Strongholds in Xadia!" She was awfully optimistic in her statement "Come on let's go." She ran towards the city.

"Stronghold!? Wait, Rayla!" He shouted as he ran towards her.

The trio were standing right outside the city gates. Callum looked at the huge gate in front of him. A feeling of unease went through his stomach.

"We can't just barge in there like this? I mean I don't think a human would be welcome in an elven stronghold, probably populated by hundreds of elven soldiers."

"It's actually in the thousands."

"That's not helping!"

"Relax, look." She reached for her backpack and pulled out a small ring from it. "Lujainne gave me this. She said you would need it when we get to Xadia." She threw the ring at him. He grabbed it and took a good look at it. It was a small band made of a dark silver like metal. It had a small circle on top with a dark blue sky rune etched onto it.

"Well, don't just stand there, put it on!" Callum reluctantly placed it on his ring finger. A bright yellow light encircled his whole body, before fading away just as quickly. The human yelled out. He had lost both his pinkies. Aside from that, he now had pointy ears, thin white horns coming out of his head and a pair of wings on his back.

"I'm an Elf!!?"

"Well, sort of. It's an illusion, remember. You're still a human, but when the other elves see you they'll think that you're one of them. And, since you did Sky magic before, Lujaine thought of a fittin' disguise. Who would have thought it would be this fittin'." She was smiling with glee at him, but the step-prince was too distracted by his new look to notice.

"Right, right." Callum was trying to touch his invisible pinkies. He could still feel them, but he couldn't touch them. "This is so weird." He scanned the rest of his body and saw the big pair white wings, he now had. He tried flapping them, but to no avail. There were mearly an illusion after all.

"You'll get used to it. Just don't go flyin' off any tall buildings." She jokingly warned him as she walked over to Zym. "And here's one for you, you wee cutie." She put a silver necklace with a red gem, shaped like a four-armed star, around Zym's neck. The dragonling cooed as the yellow light engulfed him and then faded away. He was now completely yellow. His usual spiky mane and horns, replaced by pale orange horns shaped like a circular crown, like the one Sol Regem had, but a lot smaller.

"It probably won't be a good idea for us to directly announce that we're escortin' the future King of the Dragons right off the bat, ya' know. So now Zym is a Sun Dragon!" Zym barked with joy and started running circles around himself to get a good look at his new physique."They're a lot more common around these parts"

"But wait, Rayla, if we say that we're escorting the Dragon Prince, wouldn't that make our journey a lot safer?"

"Oh yeah! Lets let everyone know we're the royal escort to the future King of the Dragons! I'm sure it won't case a crowd of people curiously eyeballing us all throughout the way. And what's this?" The Moonshadow Elf grabbed his arm what had the ring on it. "A human pretending to be an Elf. Of with yah head!" Callum though of a counterargument, but failed.

"You're right. You're right! We better not draw any extra attention towards ourselves."

That's what I thought." She made a snarky expression before going to the gate. "Hey! Down here! Open up!"

From the top of the gate two Sunfire Elves looked down to see who it was. Rayla was frantically waving at them with both hands. The two elves at the top hid behind the wall and stopped waving.

"I wonder what it'll be like?" Callum wondered aloud. "I've never seen an elven city before. Only through books and scetches I made out of them."

"Well. I guess you'll wait and see."

The huge gate in front of them gave way to a loud thud as it started descending underground. The Human prince felt increasingly nervous. A million thoughts rushed through his head. What if something went wrong. What if his disguise failed. What if they saw through it. What if they hated Skywing elves. What if... He shook his head. Remembering his mother's advice he took a deep breath. "Alrifht, Callum, be cool. They see you as an Elf. They won't suspect a thing. Breathe in. Breathe out."

The gate descended underground. Three Sunfire Elves approached, two wearing regular soldier uniforms, the third one was wearing armor made from a gold like metal a long black cape and was riding a big light brown animal that looked like an oversized horse.

"That's one of the generals." Callum was getting nervous, but Rayla grabbed him by the arm and whispered in his ear "Follow my lead."

The general dismounted his ride and approached the two newcomers. He was stern and serious, both in body and face. His skin was darker than that of King Harrow. He was middle aged, but his eyes revealed a man who's went through thousands of battles.

"Please state your business." His voice was deep and he spoke in a firm and serious tone.

"Me and my friend here found this baby Dragon out in the desert." Rayla had put on a sad and weiry expression. "His mother was dead. Poor thing was malnourished and starvin'. We took him in and gave him all we had, but we ran out of supplies. We were out in the desert for three whole days until we finally reached Solus. We were hoping to rest and resupply here, before we head off to the Moon Valley where I'm from."

The veteran Elf looked at the two elves in front of him. First to Rayla then to Callum, who was a bit nervous.

"I see, well that's very noble of you, miss." He cleared his throat. "But, can I have your names? Per protocol."

Rayla spoke up before Callum got a chance. "I'm Rayla and this is my friend Cal-l-l-laam. Yes, Calaam. He is a Mage." The last part was unnecessary for the guards, but fully necessary to calm down her friend. Which seemed to be working. Callum remembered the satisfaction of being the only human, probably in history, to connect to an arcanum. An aura of calmness went through him.

"My name is Conall." He looked at the Skywing Elf with a sceptical look.

"Calaam? That's an... unusual name?"

"Yes, well my parents had an unusual taste in... uhm... names. My dad once adopted a glowtoad that he named Bait. He...Hilarious...he...he. " The older Elf just looked at him sternly. Callum was smiling innocently. Rayla was too busy thinking where she heard that phrase before. A couple of seconds passed until...

"Hu... Huhu... Huhuhu." The veteran Sunfire Elf started laughing. All the tension fell from his shoulders and he was a lot more loose than before. Some might say he was even friendly "A glowtoad named Bait. I haven't heard that one before. Huhuhu!

"He-hehe-he-he" Callum laughed along. "Yeah I mean you know that glowtoads are surprisigly delicious. Do you have to rub it in the poor critter's face?"

"Huhuhu. Sounds like your father has a very 'unique' sense of humor."

"Yeah... He did." The Brown haired 'elf' made a sad nod.

"Oh... I'm sorry. My condolences." He made a short bow. "I lost my brother to the humans who brought down Avizandum, along with countless soldiers. Good men, with families here in Xadia. War isn't very merciful to anyone, I'm afraid."

"Heh, you can say that again." Callum noted sadly, before forcing a smile

Rayla sympathetically placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Well, as long as you don't cause any trouble, you can stay in Solus for as long as you like. We just need to check your supplies first. Per protocol, again." He made a hand signal and the two soldiers approached. Callum turned nervous again, but Rayla pat him on the butt and he straightened up. She then picked up Zym and held him close. One of the soldiers approached her.

"Rayla, was it? Can I check the baby Dragon. It's protocol we check everyone." Zym felt something weird, and made a displeased look.

"I'm sorry, he gets scared around strangers."

"Aww, it's alright. I don't bite little guy."

He pat, Zym on the head, but he still seemed displeased about something. They took their bags and searched through them. One soldier took out the Key of Aaravos from Callum's bag. The Sun rune started glowing.

"Oh, that. That's a primal source detector thingy. It was a gift from my dad." The guard took a closer look at the strange cube.

"I haven't seen anything like it before. Where did your father get it?"

"He... Uhm it was a gift! From Thun..."

"The Dragon King!" Rayla interrupted, before Callum made the mistake of saying the humans' name for the Dragon King. "It was a gift for his father's loyal years of service in the Dragon Guard right Calaam?" The 'Skywing Elf' nodded sheepishly. The guard grew a bit suspicious, but continued looking through his bag.

"Everything seems in order, except..." He scanned the Skywing Elf and stopped on the brown scetchbook on his satchel. "Do you mind if I take a look at that book you're carrying."

"My scetchbook? S-sure. It's not magic or anything, just a hobby of mine." He explained as he handed the Scetchbook.

"I believe you, but you can never be too careful." He took a look at his scetch book and opened it up to a few pictures that surprised him.

"Is this a human?" He was looking at a drawing of Claudia. The comment caught the attention of the general and the other soldier, who was looking through Rayla's bag.

"Oh that! Uhm you see... I..."

"Oh, that's a real funny story!" Rayla stepped in to save the situation, again.

"Apperley Calaam here has a thin' for human girls. I honestly can't understand what he sees in them. But he keeps insistin' on going "Over the Breach." if yah, know what I mean."

"Hey, uh... I mean. Yeah! Guilty. I have weird tastes in girls. I admit it." He played along, throwing his hand in the air and smiling. The soldier slowly nodded before turning his attention back to the scetchbook. He turned a page and something caught his attention.

"And the girl you liked was a Dark Mage?" He closed the book and gave it back to him. "You're a weird one Calaam. I feel sorry for you."

The prince in disguise, couldn't help, but feel that was a personal attack, be he would take it over a physical one.

"I once had a luitenant who was really into a Dark Mage..." the general meakly noted, trailing off into his memories, with a look of sadness and disgust. "It did not end well for him. She used parts of his body for dark magic. He came back in the end, but... The state he was in, both physically and mentally..." Shivers went down his spine. "Terrible thing, dark magic." There was an air of dread hanging in the air which was broken by the guard giving back Callum's bag.

"Welp. Everything looks alright. Apart from the Skywing elf with issues." The other Soldier laughed.

"Are we done here?" Callum was getting tired of their rude remarks.

"Woah, a feisty one! This just keeps gettin' better." Conall nudged him in the back, which shook him up a bit. "Uhm, I mean, everything checks out". He handed both bags back to them. "I just need to you to take off any magical trinkets, like that ring and necklace the dragon is wearing.

Callum's heartbeat quickened." M-my... My ring? Uh, sure. I mean... " Rayla but her hand and his shoulder and hinted him to do it. He turned to the guards and nervously replied "S-Sure! N-no problem." In the meantime Rayla took the necklace off the Zym and handed it to them. To the step-prince's surprise the draginling still looked like a Sun Dragon. Callum was taken aback, but was quickly interrupted by the soldier snapping his fingers in front of him

"You still here?"

"Oh, right. My bad." He began taking of his ring slowly, very slowly. His heartbeat quickened even more. His mind was in a panic. He closed his eyes and took the ring off. A second passed, then another. Nothing happened, he opened his eyes and to his surprise he was still an Elf.

"That wasn't too hard, now was it? Wait, what's that?" The prince froze.

"Wait, I can explain, I..."

"BOOM!!!" Callum flinched backwards, the guards were laughing their heads off. "Uhh, I tell ya, this guy cracks me up! Thought he was gonna explode or something. Hahaha."

"Making fun of our guests is not very polite, Akkar!" The guard imiduately stopped laughing and proceeded to inspect the relic.

"Uhm, Standard Moon magic illusion ring, but..." ahe gave a confused look as he scanned the 'Skywing Elf'. "...an illusion for what? I don't see anything different."

"Probably to make himself seem bigger down there, for the human ladies." The two guards were laughing even harder.

"Ettrian!" The general snapped, but the guard didn't hear him and continued mocking the 'Skywing elf'.

"H-he probably isn't even a real mage, hahaha!"

"That's enough!" The general yelled out, but they couldn't hear him over the sound of their own laughter. Callum lost his temper. He drew the windbreath rune and said the magic word. A light gust of hot desert wind, blew in the guards' faces.

"That enough proof for yah?! Now are we done so we can get moving, already?"

"Gee, calm down. I was just messing with ya. Here." He threw the ring at the Sky Mage who grabbed it and secured it on his ring finger.

"Ahem... I apologise for any inconvenience. These two can be a bit... Spontaneous, if you know what I mean."

"Nothing to worry about, he gets it all the time, right Calaam?" Callum had the facial expression of a grumpy glow toad.

"I'm see. Heh... Anyway, welcome to Solus, Calaam and Rayla, we hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you so much! Come on Calaam." She grabbed his hand and led him forward. Although dragged would have been a better word for it. The two soldiers from before were standing behind the general. One was fidgeting with his fingers the, other had his hand being his head, looking into the distance.

"Now, you two!" The veteran's voice made the two of them snap out of their trance and salute him. "Let me teach you a little lesson in hospitality." The two felt like they were gonna have a bad time.

The human, the elf and the dragon waltzed in, out of the front gate and into the city looking to avoid the guards' little scandal.

"Pfew, that was close. And a bit rude. Can you believe it? Two minutes into an elven city and I'm already being made fun of!" Callum looked back with a grumpy expression. Rayla wrapped her arm around him which caught him off guard.

"Oh, where would you be without me lookin' out for yah?" Rayla said in a flirty manner.

"Why, do I get the feeling you're starting to enjoy getting me out of trouble?" He said with a smirk.

"Maybe a little." She playfully giggled.

"Riiiight." Rayla was enjoying it a lot. He had mixed feelings about her always having to cover up for him. On one hand, he really didn't know how he would manage if he was going into Xadia alone. On the other hand, he was tired of it. Tired being the defenceless one. Tired of the soldiers in Katolis always protectimg him. Now that he learned magic, it was like a feeling of individuality grew on him, stronger and stronger, every day. He wasn't defenceless anymore and wanted to prove it.

"Thanks, Rayla, but you don't have to protect me you, know. I can take care of myself." Rayla made a doubtful smirk.

"Says the guy who put his hand on a lightning rod during a thunderstorm."

Callum tried responding, but couldn't think of anything witty to come back at her, which just made him frown. "Hey, come on, lighten up. I was just messin' with ya."

"Like you took the guards' side at the gate?"

"Oh come on you grumpy Glowfrog. We're inside, aren't we? At least I didn't call you a bloodthirsty monster." He looked at her with a blank expression, which quickly turned into a wild, hysterical laughter, from both sides. They laughed so hard and long that some pedestrians, stopped to look at them, and might have thought they were crazy or drank some kind of laughing potion. When the laughter finally subsided, Callum spoke up.

"I guess that makes us even, then."

"Weeeeell..."

"Oh come on. You know, the boat was just to get us here faster. And that thing with the dragon. I-I couldn't stand there and do nothing."

"No it's not that, it's just..." She frowned, and looked at him. "Back in the desert I was acting, very irrational and... Well... I just... I..." Callum's eyes widened and his ears sharpened. "I was afraid, okay! Afraid of goin' home. To Xadia. Facing the other elves after everything I went through. After the things I did. Or more because of the things, I didn't do. I'm sorry, Callum. I really am."

"Hey..." He put his hand on his shoulder. "My dad told me something a long time ago, when my mom... passed away. When you grow up, you have to face things you're not ready for. You probably heard me say it before, but..." He trailed off looking into the distance. "You just gotta, keep going..." There was a long pause, between them.

"Your mother..."

"Huh?"

"You miss her a lot don't you?"

"I do... Every day, in fact... I feel like she would know what to do."Rayla brought him in for a tight embrace, a gesture he gladly returned. "I saw her in my dream, you know. In some way, she helped me out. Like she was watching over me." Tears started to fall from his eyes. "I'm sorry I resorted to Dark Magic, Rayla, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I just couldn't stand there and do nothing. If I knew it was that scary I would never have done it, I..."

"It's alright, Callum. We're in this together." She let go looked at him straight in the eyes and spoke with purpose. "You and I, we set out to make a difference, didn't we? We can't give up! Not when we've gotten this far!"

"You're right." A faint smile crept up on his face. "You're right. We need to get Zym back home. It's why we're here."

"Speak of the devil." Zym was slowly trodding forward, looking dissatisfied and a bit sickly. He looked like he was about to collapse. Callum and Rayla got worried and went to take a closer look. The dragonling began breathing in like he was about to sneeze, more and more. Until finally...

As adorable as a baby dragon's sneeze was, it wasn't particularly common for them to fire out projectiles out from behind when they sneeze.

"Ouch, who threw that?" Someone shouted, in the distance.

"What did you feed him?" Callum asked in concern.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, check your back pocket!" The human in disguise went into his back pocket to discover a small pebble, made of a purple crystal like substance.

"It's called a Moonpearl. It's a one time use crystal that can keep an illusion active for about five minutes if the cast is removed. I snuck one in your back pocket..."

"...When you pat me on the... Ahhh, so that's how the illusion stuck, when I removed the ring. Quick thinking, Rayla!" Callum finished her sentence and playfully pocked her in the shoulder, which made blush. "But, what about Zym? " The Dragon Prince was still dizzy and annoyed from the experience he just had.

"They would have noticed it coming in from the front..."

"Aha, so you had to..."

"Yes."

"In his..."

"Right."

"So that's why he..."

"Definitely."

"Disgusting..."

"But, effective." She noted with a wink.

"Riiight. Well we're in so let's check out the sights."

The trio were walking through the centre of Solus. Zym had found it pretty comfortable to ride on Callum's shoulder, it was quickly becoming the Dragon Prince's favorite mode of transportation, and Callum didn't mind. Having the future King of the Dragons on your shoulder, made him feel pretty important. Even if he was a prince, most people in Katolis didn't take him seriously, since he wasn't King Harrow's biological son. He couldn't lie, he liked the extra importance, it was worth the shoulder strains.

The city was bustling with activity. Merchants, selling their wares. Friends walking through the town in small groups, going from place to place. Soldiers stationed in the area, bored and waiting for their next order. A bustling yet strangely peaceful town.

The trio turned a corner and walked into the Great Solus Marketplace, the grand jewel of Solus as Rayla had referred to it before. Callum looked at the vendors, and started wondering.

"Hey, Rayla?"

"What is it?"

"I'm confused, I thought elves weren't big on money, if at all. So why are there so many merchants and this so called Great marketplace."

"Good question, friend." She raised a finger in the air "You see elves never really understood the value of money. Even for me it seems weird and outlandish. But there are a few who found value in some human customs like, trading. Belittled and missunderstood by their friends and family, they came here. To Solus! The only city in Xadia where they can be understood. He se why its called The Lone City"

"Wow, I never knew such a place even existed." His eyes scanned the area and got caught on a big stone statue in the center of the marketplace. Callum ran towards it to get a closer look.

Delsaran

Hero of the Traders

The writing on the big stone plaque, at the feet of the statue, was worn out, but still readable. Callum turned his gaze up to look at the statue. The Elf portraied on it was tall handsome and had an aura of power and determination around him. Like this person would go through the harshest winds, or the most searing heat to achieve his goals. But at the same time there was an aura of kindness and empathy. The warmth of a loving father and a loyal friend. Someone who would do anything to help out others in need. It reminded him on his dad in a weird way.

"Woah!" Callum was stunned. "Whoever sculpted this statue must have been a master sculpter."

"Impressive isn't it?" Rayla stood beside him. "The people of Solus really owe a huge debt to him. Without him this city would never even exist." The Dragon and human Princes just continued to watch the statue in awe. "Did you know that, Delsaran really liked humans? So much that he pleaded to the Dragon King to let them in Xadia?"

"Wait, really? But I thought, you know. Banned from Xadia, for Dark magic and stuff."

"Well, you would be right, but him and the other merchants saw humans as their best customers so they kept the city in a sort of gray area. For a long time it was the only place in Xadia where humans could come and share their wares and stories with our kind."

"Wait a minute, what about the river of lava?"

"They came by boat. Through the river that passes through the city. And even that was tricky. They had to go through the fleets patrolling the southern side of the continent. Some of them had their cargo checked seven times before they would let them pass. Some, didn't even make it. A dangerous journey for the brave and foolish ones alike."

"That makes sense. Still hard to believe." He looked at the statue again, wondering what he was like.

"I know, and... After the fall of The Dragon King, even this city was closed off. The last becon of Human and Elf relations - shut off."

"That's so sad. I-I'm sorry."

"For what? It's not like you did it?"

"I know, It's just... I'm sorry, for what humans did, I mean..." Rayla put her hand on his shoulder, again.

"There's no need to apologize Callum. What's done is done. Besides, I know you are doing the right thing. Just by bein' here in Xadia with me. Helpin' to return Zym to his mother speaks more about who you are than what race you're from! Never forget that. You wouldn't be here otherwise" Callum, couldn't help, but tear up a little. Without saying a word he hugged her tightly. After a few seconds he let go of the embrace and Callum finally spoke.

"Thank you, Rayla. I... I don't know where I'd be without you."

"Anytime. Although seriously, what's with all the crying lately? Are you feeling alright?"

"I don't know, it's just. I always thought from the perspective the people back home and everything they taught me. Now that I'm in Xadia. It's like a whole new world has opened up. I feel so stupid for thinking all those things."

"Hey" She gave him a glowing smile. "If it helps, I also learned a lot about humans, by being with you and Ezran. I We both have things we need to let go of." Her smile was so contagous, Callum couldn't help smiling back. They stared into each other's eyes, completely hypnotised by one another, like someone had put a spell on them.

They were starting to lean forward when they heard a small boy's voice, which got them out of their trance.

"Excuse me, mister, is that a baby Sun Dwagon?" The two looked toward who called them. It was two Sunfire elf children, a boy and a girl around four years old. Callum and Rayla let go of each other and the the 'Skywing elf' crouched to meet the two children.

"Why, yes." He extended his arm to let Zym slide to the ground and gave them a welcomimg smile "Do you want to pet him? Don't worry, he doesn't bite." The two children started to pet Zym. They were having a blast and the baby dragon was enjoying it lot. He gave a few happy barks and yips. He licked the little girl's hand, which gave her a small zap.

"Hahaha, that tickles!" Rayla and Callum panicked realizing that the illusion cannot hide the Sky Arcanum.

"Cutie, isn't he. But..." Rayla picked up Zym from the ground. "...we're in a bit of a hurry so, come now, say goodbye."

"Awww" The children groaned in disappointment. The girl came closer and gave the Dragon Prince in disguise one last pet.

"Bye, baby dwagon." The other child also joined in for one last pet.

"Come on, run along now." Rayla urged them and the left running along.

"Pfew." Callum breathed a sigh of relief, but Rayla wasn't so calm.

"We need a place to stay for the night. Get some supplies and then leave, first thing in the morning!"

"Oh, come on, we just got here."

"Are you enjoin' it!?"

"Well, I thought I would be nervous, but..." Callum scanned the town again. "I really like this town. The vibe is great and the people are pretty friendly. It's actually kind of nice."

"Let me remind you why they're so friendly." Rayla grabbed his arm and showed it to him. "The moment they figure out who you really are, they'll burn you alive, or worse! We can't risk it, Callum!"

"What happened to that whole, 'You're not them' talk?"

"Well, if you think your positive attitude can make a town of elves like you, then take the ring of. Go ahead" Rayla had a daring smile on.

"I'm kidding! It's just... I used to think their lives would be very different from ours, but..." He scanned the city one more time "This isn't so different, from the towns back home. Maybe we have more alike than we care to admit. "

"Perhaps, but..." The Moonshadow Elf grabbed him by his shoulders "You cannot forget that, this is a time of war! No matter how much you think you can get along, you cannot risk exposin' yourself. Whatever you do. Remember. The mission. Comes. First!" Callum stared into Rayla's eyes again. But this time her face stern and serious. No sign of that previous friendly affection. Now she resembled Lord Viren in a time of crisis. Or on a regular day. Callum sighed in defeat. He knew there was no getting around it when she gets serious.

"Understood. I'll keep a low profile."

"Good!" She let go of his shoulders and started to look around. "Now where could we..." Her eyes stopped on something. "There! Come on!"

"What, wait. Rayla!" Callum lagged behind and started to chase after her. He stopped to take one last look at the statue of Delsaran. 'What just happened?' He reflected on the whole scene from start to finish, baffled by it. He wondered for a second what would have happened if the two children didn't interrupt them. Were they gonna kiss? Did he feel that way about her? It's not the same feeling as with Claudia, but in some way it was better. Calmer, more confident, even. He shook his head realizing he was overthinking it and ran after her.

"The Jolly Hunter?" Callum was reading the sign of the inn that Rayla chose for them. It had a logo of an Elf drinking from a big Horn while standing with one foot on top of a slain beast.

"Yup, Runaan and I used to stay here whenever we came by."

"Uh-huh, yeah I got ya."He was still staring at the logo. Rayla smirked at him.

"Come on!" She dragged him inside. The small bell on the door played a light chime, as they entered.

"I'll be right with you!" A voice was heard from the kitchen. Callum looked around the inn which looked more like a hunters lodge. There were various animal heads on the wall. Hunting spears, a rug made from the hide of a Banther, trophies and other hunting accessories, contributing to the inn's aesthetic.

"How can I... Wait a second. Rayla!?" The innkeeper was a Sunfire Elf with light tanned skin. Her red hair was tied in a big long braid. She loomed middle aged, but pretty lively despite it. "Oh my! How much you have grown. What have you been doing? And how's Runaan doing? You have to tell me everything."

"It's good to see you too Ellania. Runaan he..." She had a flashback of the time in Katolis, when she basically, betrayed his whole group and then proceeded to go against his orders, again. Whatever happened to him? He might be rotting in a dungeon cell, or worse. "He's been better, I guess. Still same old stubborn Runaan, you know. He-he."

"Oh, he always was tense, but you know he cared for you."

"I know, it's just..." She grunted wanting to change the subject. "Anyway, do ya' have one room for the two of us, please. For one night." Zym popped his head over the counter "And him."Ellania smiled at them.

"Well I do, but if that adorable little baby dragon, burns down my inn, you two are gonna have to repair it."

"You don't have to worry about it. " Callum stepped in "He's completely harmless!" He picked up Zym who smiled, sticking his tongue out.

"Well aren't you a cute little Sun dragon" She gave Zym a pet on the head, before turning to Callum and Rayla. "And you are?"

"I'm Calaam. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise. You can call me, Ellania. Come, I'll show you to your room." She took them upstairs into a short corridor with six rooms in total. She proceeded to the second door on the left. There you go, room three for the three of you. Haha." She opened it up to reveal a medium sized room with a wardrobe, desk, a double bed and two cupboards.

"Perfect room for couples wouldn't you say?" Ellania smilingly noted which made Callum and Rayla turn red in the face.

"Couples?!" They both yelled out in unison.

"Oh, no no no no!", "There's been a misunderstanding", "We're not together", "She's just a friend", "And me and him, no way!", "Besides I... Wait what's that supposed to mean?" The two friends were talking over each other trying to explain the situation. At least Callum was. Rayla was really trying hard to play it cool. Zym whimpered in confusion.

"Oh, haha-ha." Ellania laughed at the awkwardness. "My mistake. Maybe it's just that you two look so cute together I assumed you were... Haha-ha."

"What? Us", "R-r-really me and him?", "I mean I already like someone", "I mean maybe I don't know... Wait", "We haven't known each other that long and... Huh?", "Don't tell me you still like that wench, after what she did to yah?"

"Who? Claudia? I mean she is still my friend and..."

"Friend!? She tried to kill us, and she tried to kidnap Zym and stick em in a cauldron for all we know! Friends don' do that!"

"Oh come on she's not that bad, I mean I... she was probably just following orders."

"Then she chose her duty over your friendship, and she would probably do it again! Let that sink in." Rayla smirked at him proudly, which seemed to just piss him off even more.

"Yeah? Well at least, she didn't keep what happened to my dad a secret! And, you know what? I often wonder: 'What else is she hiding?' Are those revelations of your just another facade? Who knows wotg you anymore!" Callum, didn't think that last one through. It just came out on it's own. And after all she did for him, and all that happened, he treated her like this. He felt immensely guiltily. Rayla opened her mouth to try and respond, but couldn't.

"Uhm" Ellania interfered them "I see you two have quite the... Complicated relationship. I'll leave you the keys, and be on my way." She gave the keys to Rayla and went downstairs on a fast pace. There was an awkward silence between them for a few seconds. Finally Callum spoke up.

"Rayla I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...I"

"Forget it! I'll go buy some supplies. You and Zym - stay here!" With that she rushed out and down the stairs. Callum and Zym were alone in the room.

"Ahhhhhh!" Callum screamed in frustration and fell on the bed!

Zym, concerned for his human friend, jump on the bed and went to sit on his belly to comfort him. He yiped to get his attention. The brown haired prince looked at the dragonling who was staring at him with his big sad eyes, which.

"I really messed up this time, didn't I Zym? I'm a terrible friend." Zym gave him a sympathetic whimper and laid his head on his chest. "How did things get so complicated? I mean, before we entered Xadia, we were close, there were no secrets between us at all, at least none that I knew of. We laughed we hugged. We cooperated. Now..." He got the key of Aaravos from his backpack and was looking at the Moon Rune. "Now I just don't know anymore. One minute, she's cheerful and honest the other she's cold and distant. Maybe it's a Moonshadow Elf thing? I just don't get it? Maybe it's normal for them? Maybe..."He breathed a sigh of defeat." I'm tired! Maybe I should just take a nap and things will clear up when I wake up." He put the key back in his backpack, rolled on his side and went to sleep. Zym jumped off and snuggled in front of his chest rolled up. He looked at the sleeping human prince in concern before also lying down to sleep.

"Alright will that be everything?"

Rayla looked at the supplies she got one last time, before nodding in agreement and placing a few silver coins on the counter.

"Alright then have a nice day." She put all the supplies in her backpack and looked around. The Solus marketplace was huge, but empty without the humans around. When she was a little girl, the Great Market was crawling with humans. Now, it just stood as a relic of those olden days. Sad and empty.

"Come to think of it, there were still tensions back then.. How didn't I notice it, before. Maybe I was just too little to understand."

Eleven years ago

Rayla was running around the Marketplace, looking around at all the vendors. She was surprised at all the difent merchants she saw. There were Skywing elves selling flying machines powered by Sky magic. Earthblood elves with their stalls flooded with exotic minerals, radiating with Earth magic. A few of the rare Startouch elves who had these fascinating cosmic relics. And there were even a couple of human merchants, selling arts and crafts made off wood, stone, porcelain. Knitted goods, food, jewelry. All kinds of interesting wares. The young Moonshadow Elf ran over to one of the human merchants and started to look at the wares. She picked up a small wooden figurine of a horse. She was amazed at how smooth it was.

"Do you like it?" The woman at the stand asked her. She was a fair human woman, who looked like she was in her mid thirties. She had long blonde hair and green eyes, and had a very motherly aura around her. Rayla nooded twise at her question "This was made by one of the best craftsmen of Del Bar? Have you heard of Del Bar, sweaty?"

"Mh-mh" She shook her head.

"Well, Del Bar is a human Kingdom, in the frozen mountains far to the west of here." She explained "Sometimes it gets so cold that people don't want to leave their homes for weeks. So we pick up lots of indoor hobbies like art, sculpting, knitting or reading." Rayla's eyes were shining, she had heard stories of the humans from Runaan and her parents, but most of them were about how Humans were greedy and vicious and untrustworthy. She could never fully believe them. Looking at this woman right now, she really didn't seem like the type. "Do you want it?"

"R-really?"

"Yes really. It's a gift." She smiled warmly.

Rayla took the little horse figurine with both hands and a big smile. "Thank you, nice human lady!"

"Think nothing of it" The woman, giggled from her phrasing. "What's your name sweetie?"

"Rayla. I'm a Moonshadow Elf. I can turn invisible in the full moon."

"Well that's wonderful, Rayla. My name is Kari. It's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled and then looked more carefully at the small elven girl. "You know, you really remind me of my daughter, back in Del Bar."

"Really? Is she a Moonshadow Elf too!?"

"Hahaha, no sweety, she's human like me. But you know what, she has that same spark in her as eyes as you have. A desire to do good and protect those in need. You know one time..."

"Excuse me, am I interrupting?" Kari turned her attention to the newcomer. A tall, muscular Moonshadow Elf with a stern look on his face.

"Runaan!" Rayla ran towards him and hugged his leg.

"It's good to see you too, Rayla." He smiled with what little emotion he could portray, before turning towards the merchant woman in the same stern fashion as before. "I'm sorry, if she caused you any trouble, ma'am. Rayla can be a bit... Too curious for her own good." Rayla made a grumpy expression towards him.

"It's quite alright, she was an absolute angel, you clearly raised her well. Are you her caretaker? She called you by name, so I assumed you aren't her father."

"Guardian" He bluntly replied. He didn't want to go in detail about their predicament. Especially with a human. "I'm sorry, but we have to go. Thank you for your time" He said while dragging Rayla away.

"Bye, Kari!"

"Bye, Rayla!" She waved at the little, girl before turning to the other Elf with worry. Not for herself, but for the little Rayla. Her Guardian doesn't seem to be the type to like humans very much. And that little elven girl... "I hope she stays true to herself" She thought to herself, before continuing to the focus on her stall.

"Rayla, what did I tell you about talking the humans?"

"Do not interact with the humans."Rayla frouned, lowered her head and said in a monotonous voice "They are greedy, mischievous and practice dark magic."

"Exactly!"

"But Runaan!" She turned to look him in the eyes. "That lady was awfully nice to me, she was a mother and she gave me this." The young Rayla showed her guardian the little wooden horse which seemed to make him even angrier. He snached it from her hands and proceeded to scold her.

"You accepted a gift from a human!? Rayla..." He took a beep breath so he doesn't get too angry at her. "Humans, are cunning, simple minded and deceiving creatures! You mustn't trust them under any circumstances. This item..." He looked at the small wooden horse "It could have been imbued with a powerful dark spell!" Rayla watched in horror as Runaan crushed the little wooden horse with his mighty grip.

"You're still young Rayla, I know it's hard for you to understand, but some day you will see: Make friends with them and they will stab you in the back" He opened his palm and let the broken figurine fall to the ground. Rayla fell to her knees and started crying.

"Are you still filling that poor little girl's head with your mad fantasies, Runaan?"

He looked at the person who told him that. It was his youngest apprentice Kyrrha. She was around sixteen years old. She was tall and slim, her white hair tied in a bun with two locks coming out from it's sides. Runaan didn't particularly like her. She was always sassy, lazy, and rebellious. He though that meant she would make her tough to break if she ever got captured and would drive her captors mad, but him always having to deal with it drove him mad.

"This doesn't concern you Kyrrha."

The apprentice assassin looked at the young Rayla still crying over the pile of broken wood and sawdust that was. She scoffed.

"Wow, you broke the little girl's toy. Some guardian you turned out to be."

"That 'toy' was given to her by a human!"

"So?"

"So?! It could have been a trap! You know how mischievous they can be!"

"Orrrr!" Kyrrha was waving her finger in the air in a circular pattern. "It could have been just a gift, you know. Maybe even a peace offering, a hope for the future generations to... I don't know, find common ground and not be so stuck up?"

"So they can stab us in the back with our guard down? Yes, perfect plan indeed."

"Uhhh" The teenage Elf rolled her eyes "Have you ever thought that maybe thise 'trickeries' are just inside your head, and that reality is muuuch different? Maybe there's more to them than that? Or are you just projecting it because you use the same tools to assassinate people?"

"That's exactly why I'm telling her this! So she can make the correct judgment when the time comes."

"Her correct judgment? Or yours?"

"I'm only trying to protect her!" Kyrhha looked at the four year old girl.

"By making her cry? That's some protectin', Runaan. Did your dad also protect you by making you cry?"

"I'll have you know that..." While they were arguing, another Moonshadow Elf ran over to them.

"Runaan, we found the target. We're ready to move on your orders."

"Understood" He answered, before turning his attention back to Kyrhha.

"I need to go, just... Look after her. And don't get yourselfes into trouble. Can you at least do that right?"

"I'll probably do a better job than you." She said making a cheeky smile.

"Don't get her killed. It's your head!" The Elven assassin threatened her, before turning to the other assassin.

"What's the situation?"

"Well our target is unaware of our possition"

"Plan of attack?"

"Well we could..." Their conversation faded into the distance while they walked away discussing their mission.

"Don' ge' 'er kieled. It's yo'r 'ead."

She went to pick up the sobbing Rayla and let her sit on her right arm. "I'm Wu'naaan! I 'ave biiig musles an' an even biiiiigeeer stiiick up my buuutt!"

The four year old Moonshadow Elf started to laugh at Kyrhha's imitation.

"Come on Rayla, let's go have some fun without that big bw'ute bothering uuus." Rayla's childish laughter was all that followed

In the Present

Rayla was walking around town remembering those bittersweet days. When her parents joined the Dragon Guard and left her with Runaan and his group, all those years ago. She didn't want to believe all the things her guardian had told her. And when she met Callum and Ezran, she felt like everything he said was wrong. Humans aren't inherently evil. They can be simple minded at times, but so can elves.

"Maybe it is my fault. I haven't exactly been fully honest with him. I told him only part of it, but not the full truth. I just don't know how or what to tell him." She crossed her arms, holding them both with opposite hands. "When he fell into that Dark magic induced coma I was so scared..." Her pace quickened. "Moonshadow Elves aren't supposed to show fear, and these feelings are terrifying me right now. Maybe I..." She breathed a heavy sigh "What's important now is getting Zym to his mother! Everything else is secondary." She told herself, sweeping it under the rug of duty and continued browsing the market for supplies.

She was passing by a Skywing Elf stall when something caught her attention. It was a big brown tome with the Sky Rune on it. 'Sky Primal Spells'. "Maybe Callum can use one of these." She picked it up "If Callum can learn more spells then maybe he can defend himself better. I hope."

"You want it?" She turned to face the merchant. He was young a Skywing Elf around her age, maybe a bit older. He had a long face, tanned skin and shoulder length white hair. He looked pretty down about something. "Take it, we're closing up. I need to get rid of this junk anyway. You'd be doing me a favor."

"Uhh, really? Don't I have to pay anythin' for this? It looks pretty valuable."

"What, that thing?" He turned towards her leaning back on his chair with one arm around it. "It's a basics of the basics book about Sky Magic. Every rookie Mage has one of these. It's really not as valuable as you think it is?"

"Well I have a friend who could really use a book like this. Thank you so much!"

"Whatever" The merchant was unamused. He stared off into the distance.

"Why the long face?" She couldn't help, but giggle.

"Ha-haha" He did a fake laugh. "I haven't laughed so hard since the first five hundred times I heard that joke." He noted sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. But really, why are you so down?" He smiled at her

"You're not from around here are ya? Haven't you heard of the Solus embargo?"

"Yeah, I have. When the Dragon King fell, humans were banned from Solus."

"Yeah, you can imagine business hasn't exactly been great after we lost our best customers. Now instead of humans we have the Sunfire military using this place as a Stronghold." He let out a sigh of defeat "I might have to close up the family business after all. Such a shame."

"Don't say that. There's still hope, ya know."

"Hope?" He chuckled "Solus was our hope, lady!" He stood up and snapped at her, which made her take a step back "And now... its gone!" When the merchant realized he let his anger get the best of him he leaned back on his chair and apologized. "I'm sorry I snapped at you, it's just. I doubt you can even imagine how this feels, since you're not from Solus."

"Well, I can't, but I know what it feels like to find hope when there is none left."

"Heh, you're adorable. So young and full of hope. Until reality snatches it away along with everything you believed in. Hell, everything everyone in this damn city's ever believed in." He looked at her with intrigue. "You're not familiar with the history of The Lone City, are you?"

"Only some parts, the more recent ones to be exact."

"Well, are you up for a little history lessona then? Free of charge." Rayla pondered on the request for a bit. On one hand she didn't want to keep Callum waiting, but on the other hand after that fight they had...

"You know what? Why not." The merchant leaned back on his chair again and looked up at the sky.

"Let's see, it all started about a thousand years ago. Humans had just been banished from Xadia for their use of Dark Magic. The Dragon King went a step further and banned most of the human customs from Xadia. He was quite the arrogant type that one. He thought anything associated solely with humans was bad. So he went up and forbid everything, including..."

"Trading?"

"Exactly! All the Elven merchants became outcasts. Some of them fled to the human Kingdoms and disguised themselves as humans using Moon magic, just to continue the practice. But there was one particularly stubborn Earthblood Elf."

"Let me guess." Rayla looked at the statue in the center. "Delsaran?"

"The hero of the Traders himself, yes." He looked at her surprised. "You're not as ignorant as I thought you were? I'm impressed."

"Let's call it an educated guess."

"Fair enough. Now where was I?" The Skywing Elf cleared his throat. "Delsaran refused to leave Xadia while at the same time giving up being a merchant. It was his life and Xadia was his home. He couldn't bare living without one or the other. So he thought of a solution. He gathered the most renouned merchants from all the corners of the world and called for a summit with the Dragon King. They asked him to open up one city. One city in which elves will be able to trade with humans. One city near the border, where humans can still come. A beacon of peace if you will."

"I can imagine it didn't go that well."

"With Sol Regem in charge? 'Didn't go that well' would be an understatement.

He refused and threatened to kill them right there and then if they didn't leave his presence. But then something interesting happened. Delsaran stepped forward, and made the big guy an offer he couldn't refuse." He flustered a bit as he remembered something." I actually learn his speach by heart when I was young. Care to hear it?" Rayla nodded. The Skywing Elf proceed to do an imitation of Delsaran, he had learned by heart.

"Oh mighty Sol Regem. I understand your worries, I understand the wrongdoings of those you refer to as 'lower beings'. But I come to here as a servant of all the elves that have become outcasts. Those that suffered the injustice of the war, elf and human alike. Hear me out, and if you still refuse us, then strike me down with all your might, for I would rather die, than live in a world where my love forces me to run. Give us a city and we will be grateful for eternity. Everything you want. Food, wealth, artefacts. It's all yours. Security you will have. Make the laws of the city? We will let you! But, don't push us back, for I may die here at your hand, but I am only one Elf, but the ones that follow me are many. They will fight and die for what they love and believe... as I would."

"Wow." Rayla couldn't help but shed a few tears. "That's amazin'."

"He was, wasn't he." The merchant smiled. "Too bad that little speach couldn't save his life."

"He died?"

"Burned to a crisp, right then and there." The Skywing Elf merchant sighed. "Luckily the others survived. They carried his legacy amd his words echoed throughout Xadia. There was a continental scale rebellion. Sol Regem was too blinded by his arrogance to see that the people really loved Delsaran. They loved his energy, his determination, his empathy. It's ironic really, that he was later blinded by Ziard."

"Wait that doesn't make any sense. We saw him earlier and he could see us. "

"You encountered Sol Regem!?" The merchant stood up from his chair in shock.

"Yeah, and he nearly burnt us to a crisp."

"I'm surprised you're here at all to tell me. Ol' Sol has been pretty cranky after he lost his sight. And his throne later on. You'd think a thousand years would cool your jets, but nope. Not with him. And the seeing you thing. You must have fallen for the old 'Half eye' trick.

"Wait, what?"

"Well you see his left eye is completely gone. But his right eye on the other hand somehow survived the spell, if only partly. He still can't see with it, but you can't really tell from the outside. Hense the name 'Sol's Half Eye trick.'"

"I see."

"But he can't." The Skywing Elf erupted in laughter at his own joke, which Rayla wasn't particularly amused at. "But, seriously. Trust me, Sol's blind."

"Right, well. Can you tell me a bit more about Delsaran? Because from the books I've read, he was portrayed as a rebel seeking to destabilise Xadia. Some even suggested he was a human under an illusion." The white haired elf gave a dissatisfied grunt.

"Unsurprising, the rest of Xadia really likes to belittle us, even to this day." That dissatisfaction turned into a fit of rage. "Pfff. Bunch of arrogant assholes if you ask me. They just love to act all high and mighty all the time. Leading this endless war, instead of just letting bygones, be bygones. I mean, so what if human wanted to do magic. I'm not defending it, but can you blame them? All they wanted to do was be a little bit like us. And now we all suffer!"

"Whyyy don't we tone it down a bit, before the Sunfire military thinks you're a Dark Mage."

"Don't worry about it." He brushed it off like it's nothing. "They already know me. This ain't my first fit. The other merchants tell me I'll scare off the customers. I tell em "What customers!?" Am I right?"

"Riiiiight." Rayla took another step back.

"You probably think I'm crazy or something. Well, maybe I am. After all I'm only half-Elf."

"Wait, half-elf? So like half-human?"

"Bingo! Seith the half-Elf of Solus, at your service." He showed his hands. Rayla didn't notice it before, but he actually had five fingers on each of his hands, but he still had the horns and wings of A Skywing Elf. "Also my ears aren't as pointy as yours, uhhhh..."

"It's Rayla. There's no 'uh'." She jokingly noted.

"Pleased to meet you Rayla."

"Likewise. I gotta say, I didn't think half-elves's even existed to begin with"

"Well, you're looking at one! My mom's a human from Neolandia and my dad is a Skywing Elf. They met right here in Solus! At this very vendor. Amazing right?"

"Yeah, amazin'" Rayla's expression turned sad. "It must have been hard for you when your mother left Solus."

"It was. Ever since then it's been me and my dad running shop. He always says I have my mom's sense of humor and tradesmanship. It's really the only way I can stay connected to her. When I'm at this vendor selling things or cracking jokes. I feel like she's still here and not halfway across the world."

"That's beautiful."

"Well I don't know about that." Seith was flustered a bit. It was rare for him to meet an Elf who didn't think he was crazy at best, or an abomination at worst. Needless to say, it caught him off guard. "But... Thanks, Rayla, It means a lot. You're not like the other elves are you?"

"Weeeell" Rayla reflected yet again on that one time in Katolis when this whole journey began. "I guess you could say that." Seith smiled at her, and then remembered what he was actually talking about. "Oh damn it. I was telling you the story of Solus and Delsaran. Wow, I'm such a clutcz."

"I hadn't noticed?" She noted sarcastically

"Funny, but let me be frank with you. Usually I love telling that story. They can't shut me up when I start telling it. But with you I, just. Lost track. Funny isn't it."

"Well.That's sweet, I guess. But I would really like to learn more, about Solus. I used to come here when I was little with my guardian. Although, his reason for being here was mostly... Well... Assassination including. Nevertheless, this town always felt different to me like a different world from the rest of Xadia."

"Welp." Seith, jumped out of his stall into the streets. "How about this. You can keep that book you picked out in exchange. I..." He stopped dead in his tracks. "No, I... I can't. I can't ask this of you."

"Ask me what? What's wrong?"

"I... I was gonna ask you go to the Solstice festival with me tomorrow. Like on a..." The half-Elf merchant nervously gulped as he tried to find the words underneath his anxiety. "...Like on a date. I'm sorry, I thought that giving you that book in exchange would, oblige you, but..." He mentally face-palmed "Uhhh, I'm so stupid! I'm sorry, really just, I never really went out on a date, before and I don't know how these things work. With me being half-elf and all, most girls, even around here tend to be... disgusted, afraid, weirded out. All the bad words. Forget I said anything, just take the book and leave. Please." Rayla just laughed out loud which made Seith feel pretty uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's just really funny."

"What, my misery? My awkwardness?"

"Everythin'." She was laughing so hard she started to tear up. "Partly because I think you're full of it. But in a cute, oblivious and slightly sad kinda way."

"Well I appreciate the honesty." Seth was dumbfounded. "I'm gonna return to my stall now to drown in obliviousness if you don't mind."

"Hold up! Who know what?" She took a look at the spell book, then to him. "I'm willing to overlook this little scene you just did, because this book could really help out a friend of mine. And about that date thin'."

Seith turned around anticipatimg her answer.

"Why not. Let's do it! From one black sheep to another."

"You mean it!?" The Seith's eyes were practically glowing.

"Yeah, sure, but I'm warnin' ya. Don't get any big ideas. I'm on a very important mission that requires my utmost attention. One date, that's all."

"Ay, Ay ma'am. I'll take it!" He turned around and like he was preparing to burst. "I HAVE A DATE!!!" He couldn't contain his excitement anymore and yelled it out for the whole town to hear. Something about it reminded her of her human companion.

"Alright, Mr. First Date." She couldn't help but giggle at him. "Let's say at noon, tomorrow. By the same stall?"

"Absolutely, you won't regret it I swear uhmm I mean..." He was trying way too hard to play it cool, but "Yah know it'll be cool, yah know. No sweat."

"Okay dating tip number one! It's super annoying when you do that cool guy act. Just be yourself, alright. That's all anyone's askin'."

"Right, right. Be myself, right..." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them he looked at her and smiled "Thank you, Rayla, really. You have no idea what this means to me."

"That's better!"

"Really? Doesn't it make me look pathetic?"

The Moonshadow Elf shook her head. "Quite the opposite. It makes you seem more real. The cool guy act? When it's not your thing, that's pathetic."

"Haha, I see. Well I better get back to the stall before, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Until then."

With that she went on her way towards The Jolly Hunter. She felt a tightness in her stomach. Like a ball had formed around it causing her all manners of discomfort. "What are you doin' Rayla? You can't just... It's wrong. You acted out of pity, not affection. Oh, what have I done?! And the mission, you completely forgot about the mission. What will Callum think?"

When she got back to the Jolly Hunter, she found Callum sound asleep, with Zym in his lap. Both of them were out like a light. She went inside and sat by the bed, watching the two princes as they slept.

"What's wrong with me? I can't understand these feelings anymore." She whispered to herself, with half of her mind expecting Callum to just wake up and tell her that nothing's wrong, and pull her into an embrace. But he was completely out of it. Even if the city was on fire he would probably still be out cold. A flashback of his dark magic experiment went through her head and left as quickly as it came. "It's been a long day. I should rest as well." She said to herself as she snuck into bed. The moon was shining through the window.

The waxing crescent shined its light on the desert night. The night quiet, almost too quiet. Three trails of footsteps could be seen, almost faded into the sand. Two of them were the size of an elf or a human. Or both. The final trail was from small claw marks. Like a big lizard or a baby dragon. Suddenly, a big dragon claw with yellow scales, that looked like they were about to shed, covered the tracks. Sol Regem turned his head left and right, trying to pick up even the faintest sound, but only silence greeted him. He took a sniff at the ground. Once. Twice. A third time. The scent he was following was getting stronger. He growled and started following it. Slowly, fiercely, like an incoming storm.

**A/N: **

I'm open to accepting feedback :). Some of you might be mad at where this is going, some of you might enjoy it. All I can really say is of you don't like it don't read it. No one's forcing you. But if you do like it and you felt like it impacted you in some way then I'm glad that I managed to touch someone out there with this little project of mine. I only started writing at the beginning of the year, because of a university project where we had to write a children's book. Needless to say I was having so much fun that I didn't want to stop. Anyways, thanks for sticking around until the end. You guys are awesome. See you in the next one!


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